Balmy Bali.

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Fri. 10th. Mar.
We caught the 15:30 flight to Sydney, which eventually connected with the Darwin plane, which, after 2 time changes touched down at 11:30 p.m. Thankfully the information desk was still open and fixed us up with a decent hotel, and a shuttle bus into town. We were exhausted.

Sat. 11th.
Darwin is more compact than we imagined. There is one main street with most of the restaurants, bars etc. on it, and then just quiet side streets. There is a buz about it though, which we like. We got a map and did what little tourist sites there were, and then sat by the pool. This is the piece de resistance. On the roof-top there is a bar, pool, spa and magnificent waterfall. We finished off the night up here, watching the city partying beneath us.

Sun 12th.
We had to pack up and clear our room by 10:00, so we had a long day before our flight to Bali. Our Sunday dinner at Kitty O'Shea's was good but the sweet potatoes are not a pach on roast ones. We were eating outside on the verandah, when an Aborigine woman sat at the next table with her bottle of beer. She the proceeded to devour a discarded meal, before the waitress could remove it. The Abos are just the same here as on the east coast. --- mostly drunk, and begging for money. It wouldn't be our blog if we didn't mention rain, but the downpours here are quick and the rain is warm. There were not many people on our flight to Bali,so we could stretch out for the 4 1/2 hour journey. All the information places were closed when we touched down at Denpasar, so we take pot luck with a tout and arrive at a very pleasant hotel in Kota. Swimming pool, aircon, fan and almost hot water.... , what more could we want.

Mon. 13th.
There are hardly any tourists here because this is where the first bomb exploded. Therefore we are targeted every 2 or 3 seconds by touts, but a shake of the head and a pleasant "No thanks" works most of the time. Unfortunately a holiday rep. wore us down and with the promise of a cold drink, we jumped into his car, and lo and behold, found ourselves at a timeshare type presentation. You may laugh, Bill and Agnes, but, at least we didn't buy one! They ended up wanting 4500 pounds, and to turn the screw even more, they sent us off to the beach for our lunchof lobster, prawns and red snapper. An idyllic spot, but again, we were on our own. It goes dark here about 6:00 and the evenings are very pleasant, not too hot at all. It took us a good 1/2 hour to walk past dozens of open, but empty, restaurants, to find one that the local frequent and was busy. Outside the big hotels are security huts, and they check under the cars for bombs. Even the stores have security checks on bags, so it's a little off-putting.

Tues. 14th.
We hired a car and a driver to show us the sights and give us a glimpse of local life. The island is bigger than we envisaged and packed full of furniture makers, stone masons, silver smiths and little shanty huts selling everything under the sun. The heavens opened arouind lunch time, so our driver took us to a restaurant opposite the volcano, and we made the meal last until the storm abated. We were sitting ducks for locals trying to sell their trinkets through the window. One young lad had a magnificent wooden elephant for sale. In sign language, he asked $50 for it. We kept shaking our heads and he would go away, and then come back with a lower price. By the time we were leaving, he was down to $1, but the darned thing was too heavy for us to carry, so Jim just gave him the $1, and we walked away from the bargain of the year! We were then taken to the Rice Terraces, which were amazing. All the way down the hillside there were terraced rice paddys, very pretty. Then on to the best bit, the Monkey Sanctuary at Ubud. This is the holy monkey temple which was built during the 14th century, and is now home to over 230 monkeys. They are everywhere you look, even on my head at one stage, baby ones, big ones, all of them entertaining. It's a must for anyone coming to Bali. At the end of the tour we asked our driver to drop us at the beach to see the sunset, but clouds snookered that. Surprisingly, the sand is volcanic, and not the pristine white we expected. Last night's dinner was good so we went back again and noticed, for the first time, a security man walking up and down the pavement outside. Maybe that's why so many people eat here.

Wed.15th.
A minibus picks us up at our hotel and takes us to the port to catch a boat to Lombok. We sit in the agent's office for ages while he sells us a return trip, and the it's time to board the surprisingly large ferry for the 4 hour crossing. We went onto the top deck, which had uncomfortable wooden benches to sit on, but at least we had the view and the breeze. No safety announcements, no flushing loos and people asleep all over the floor, so not your usual P&O ferry. The docking took forever and then we couldn't follow the other passengers off because, with our back packs on, we couldn't squeeze between the lorries! Eventually, we found our courier having kittens because we were late, and ofgf we go sitting in the front seats of a minibus to Sengiggi. The St. Christopher certainly did its stuff on that ride! - Thanks again B & J! The driver was a lunatic. His speedo didn't work, and he was overtaking everything on the so-called road. We must have been white, because he kept laughing and saying " It's OK, I have 2 wives - and they don't want me dead!"!!!! Against all odds we arrived at the travel agent's office, and the went on tour of prospective hotels. The first two had power failure, but the one we settled on was amazing. The Puli Saron has everything a weary traveller requires - even a swim-up bar, but would you believe, ther are only two other couples stying here! The staff are at a loss as to what to do with themselves. Our room has a huge four-poster bed with mosquito net drapes, and the bathroom is outside, under a canopy. So you can watch the stars while having a shower - very chic! We took a taxi into town for dinner and again saw very few europeans. The locals are so friendly, though, that some times you just can't get rid of them.

Thurs.16th.
We sat by the superb pool all day, not feeling in the least bit guilty. Just outside the gates is the beach and it is quite disappointing. The sea is clear and warm, but the sand is dirty lava.
We're in time to catch the hotel shuttle bus tonight and it drops us off at a different restaurant, with an even better live group. A good night spoiled when an ATM says it's given us our money... and it hasn't. Mild panic, but what's 1,000,000 Rupeah in the grand scheme of things?!!

Fri. 17th.
Another beautiful day, so to ease the boredom (never) of the pool, we take a walk along the beach. Not far from the hotel are lots of huts that, pre-bomb, must have done a roaring trade selling food etc. Amazingly, some are still open, and the entire family are trying to scrape a livingfrom selling the odd bottle of water or packet of crisps. The hotel bus took us into town, and we collected our travel vouchers for the Gilis, before being driven back in a horse and cart! We felt sorry for the horse, not that we've put on too much weight mind you!

Sat. 18th.
Our driver collected us from the hotel at 8:15 and drove north through un-spoiled countryside and primitive villages to deposit us at the harbour to catch the boat to Gili Trawangan. The walk from the drop-off to the boat is littered with touts, goats, horse and carts and the odd beautiful brown cow. When we get to the ramshackle boat terminal, we are told that before we can board, there has to be 12 passengers, and we are nos 5 and 6. Well, that pased a good hour! Then we wade out to the boat and hauled ourselves and the back packs on board. Just when we're convinced that this thing is about to sink, they start to load the heavey stuff onto it. Be thankful the cows and goats didn't come! The crossing took about 30 mins. and then we had a short walk to our hotel. We're staying in a thatched, rustic bungalow which is just about OK, bit it does have a swimming pool. A quick lunch, and then down to the beach to soak up the rays. The sand is slightly paler, with just undertones of black and the sea is quite rough, but it doesn't deter the little Gilberts, they just love it! Lots of empty restaurants but for some reason, we settle where Jim can keep an eye on the Liverpool game. Good food, cold beer and happy smiling waiters - maybe they partake of the magic mushrooms that are so readily available.

Sun. 19th.
Whichever way you walk on the beach, you have to negotiate broken coral because the locals found an easier way to fish. They blast the coral and then the dead fish float to the surface. It's horrific the damage they've done, but when Jim was snorkelling he did see an abundance of fish, but he also saw the damaged reef. No sightings of turtles so maybe they are getting blown up too! Some English teacher must have an aversion to tourists, because she sent hordes of schoolchildren, with questionnaires, to disrupt our day. As soon as they left, the sky went grey, and we managed to get to a bar before the heavens opened. The main road around the island is only a dirt track, aboy 12 ft. wide, and after the rain, it becomes a river. So it's off with our shoes, and we paddle our way back to the hotel. We had dinner almost within touching distance of the ocean, reclining on, what they call, a Birandah. It's a large wooden table on stilts with a thatched roof and lots of cushions,and a small table in the centre on which your food and drink is served. After dinner, stretched out, watching the ocean crash against the beach is a memory that we will treasure.

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